Implantable cardiac stimulation devices, particularly pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICDs), are often configured to be used in conjunction with a programmer which allows a physician to program the operation of the implanted device to, for example, control the specific parameters by which the implanted device detects an arrhythmia and responds thereto. For instance, the programmer may allow the physician to specify the sensitivity with which the implanted device senses electrical signals within the heart and to further specify the amount of electrical energy to be employed for pacing the heart in circumstances where expected heart signals are not sensed. Current state of the art programmers permit dozens or hundreds of device control parameters to be individually programmed to thereby permit the operation of an implanted device to be tailored to the needs of the particular patient to provide optimal functionality while minimizing the risk of any unnecessary therapy. Additionally, the programmer may be configured to receive and display a wide variety of diagnostic information detected and recorded by the implanted device, such as internal electrocardiogram (IEGM) recordings or histograms of paced vs. sensed electrical events in the heart. The programmer may further operate to analyze the data received from the implanted device to assist the physician in rendering a diagnosis as to any possible arrhythmias and to assist the physician in programming the implanted device to provide appropriate therapy.
To provide these many functions, state of the art programmers typically employ fairly complicated software, and the specific functions to be performed by a given programmer and the manner in which the functions are performed may vary from programmer to programmer depending upon the software installed therein. For example, the manner by which diagnostic data is displayed and the manner by which programming commands are entered may differ from one programmer to another depending upon the version of the programmer software. Preferably, all programmers at a particular hospital or clinic are maintained so as to share the same software such that each physician using any one of the programmers can quickly, easily and reliably program implanted devices for his or her patients. It is possible, however, that the programmers may not be properly maintained and hence may not share the same programmer software. As a result of differences in the software, there is a risk that a physician might misinterpret diagnostic data displayed by the programmer and might incorrectly program an implanted device.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide techniques for ensuring that all programmers within a group of programmers share the same programmer software, such as all programmers within a particular hospital or clinic. It is to this end that aspects of the invention are directed.
After an implanted device has been initially programmed, the patient typically must return to their physician a number of times for follow-up sessions to permit the physician to verify that the implanted device is functioning properly and to re-program the device if needed. During each re-programming session, a considerable amount of data may need to be retrieved from the implanted device by the programmer, such as IEGM recordings, histograms of sensed vs. paced events and the like. Preferably, the data is stored by the programmer so that the physician can quickly and easily review the stored data in combination with any new data whenever the implanted device needs to be reprogrammed. However, in some cases, the follow-up session must be performed using a different programmer because the original programmer is no longer in use or because the original programmer is currently being used by another physician. In other cases, the follow-up session is performed by the physician at a different location such as at a hospital rather than at the office of the physician, and hence a different programmer must be used. In still other cases, the follow-up session is performed by a different physician having access to an entirely different set of programmers. As can be appreciated, with physicians potentially using multiple programmers at different locations and with patients potentially visiting multiple physicians, it is not often possible for stored data from previous programming sessions to be reviewed by the physician, possibly resulting in less than optimal re-programming of the implanted device. Still other problems arise if an individual programmer fails, and all patient data stored therein is lost.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide improved techniques for backing up and sharing data among programmers and it is to this end that aspects of the invention are directed as well.